With the arrival of AvatarAang and his team at the city,[1] Long Feng captured their lost flying bison, Appa, as leverage should they disrupt the delicate balance the Dai Li had created.[2] His ulterior motives were exposed by the Avatar when the Dai Li could not hide all evidence of the Fire Nation's invasion from the Earth King, so Long Feng was imprisoned for treason.[3] However, the Dai Li were still loyal to their leader, and Long Feng struck a deal with PrincessAzula to give her the Avatar in exchange for power over the city, though Azula double-crossed him and won the loyalty of the Dai Li, claiming Ba Sing Se in the name of the Fire Nation.[4]

Contents

History

Seizure of power

Long Feng was the son of a merchant in the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se. He rose from his humble origins to become the most feared man in the city as the Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se and the Head of the Dai Li.[5]

Rising from humble origins, Long Feng became the most powerful person in the Earth Kingdom.

As Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se, his position granted him a special relationship with the Earth King as his adviser, but in reality the Earth King was but a figurehead of Ba Sing Se's government, and Long Feng truly held sway over its privatizing affairs. As the Hundred Year War with the Fire Nation spread and refugees began pouring into Ba Sing Se in greater and greater numbers, Long Feng decided to keep all information relating to the war away from Earth King Kuei, thereby appointing himself the sole dictator in matters relating to international affairs. Long Feng claimed that he hid information on the war so the Earth King would not be troubled, but in reality, he only did so to retain his power over him and the city.[5]

As Head of the Dai Li, he utilized them as his own secret police to silence anyone who would disrupt the common peace or dare stand against him, secretly imprisoning them under Lake Laogai and using brainwashing techniques to subdue them.[1] This effectively kept the citizens of Ba Sing Se in blissful ignorance and maintained the illusion that there was no war.

He claimed to have preserved the last utopian society left on the planet by covering up all knowledge of the war, when in fact, the totalitarian traits of Ba Sing Se's government are marks of dystopia. His power was so absolute that even the Council of Five could not break through his stranglehold on the Royal Palace.

100 AG

Encountering the Avatar

Long Feng attended a party being held for the Earth King's pet bear, Bosco. As he was entering, he encountered Katara and Toph, who, after being initially refused entry by a palace guard, asked him to escort them inside and he accepted. After he used his influence to get them through the gates, he introduced himself as a cultural minister to the king, and insisted on escorting them, not letting them out of his sight.

As the Earth King's palanquin was brought inside the room, Dai Li agents started to pick out each of the four friends one by one and discreetly brought them to the palace's library. Long Feng confronted Aang, just when the Avatar was about to speak to the King, and revealed himself to be the Grand Secretariat of the Earth King and head of the Dai Li. He requested an audience with the young airbender, stating that his friends would already be waiting for them.

Taking them to a small, private chamber, Long Feng explained the true state of affairs in Ba Sing Se: that he is in charge of handling day-to-day affairs in the city, including all military matters. The King himself was no more than a figurehead, a beloved icon. Sokka tried to talk about the coming solar eclipse, but was abruptly cut off by Long Feng. To preserve the culture and utopian life within the walls of Ba Sing Se, Long Feng explained, no mention of the war was permitted. When Aang threatened to talk and tell everyone about the war, Long Feng retaliated by threatening them with expulsion from the city and told them that the Dai Li would be watching them.

Any attempts to speak to locals about the war would result in their expulsion from the city. He also cryptically remarked that such an expulsion would make their search for Appa difficult.[1]

Later, he utilized a mimic of Aang's bison whistle to trick Appa into approaching him. He revealed himself to Appa and, after a swift and powerful earthbending move, trapped the bison underground.[2]

Lake Laogai exposed

Seeing him as a threat to Ba Sing Se's stability, Long Feng contemplated a way to quietly deal with AvatarAang.

Long Feng chastised Joo Dee for failing to control the situation the Avatar's presence had created. When Joo Dee confessed her doubt in her ability to complete her assignment, he said the words "The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai", which placed her in a deep hypnotic trance. He told her to await further orders, and ordered his right-hand man to "quietly" deal with the Avatar, so as to prevent Aang from threatening the Dai Li's control over the Earth King.

This plan unfolded as a brainwashed Jet and a janitor worked to lead the Avatar and his group out of Ba Sing Se under the illusion that Appa had been shipped to Whaletail Island. However, the group ran into Smellerbee and Longshot by chance, who revealed to the group that Jet had been captured by the Dai Li, prompting them all to conclude he had been brainwashed. After several attempts, they seemed to break the Dai Li's hold on Jet. He revealed to them that he was taken to the secret headquarters of the Dai Li, located beneath Lake Laogai.[6]

Battle at Lake Laogai

"You have made yourselves enemies of the state. Take them into custody."

When the group utilized this information, Long Feng and a group of Dai Li agents confronted them, dropping from the ceiling. He watched as the guards engaged in a heated battle with the intruders, before fleeing the chamber as it became apparent that the Dai Li were losing. He led Aang and Jet into another large chamber and closed the exit with earthbending. He offered to drop all charges against Aang and his group and reunite them with Appa if they would immediately leave the city. When his offer was refused, he activated the hypnosis command, forcing Jet to attack Aang. However, the Avatar managed to break Jet out of his trance by reminding him that he was with the Freedom Fighters. In a fit of rage, Jet flung one of his swords at Long Feng, who dodged and retaliated with a powerful earthbending move that mortally wounded him. Angrily telling Jet he had chosen his own demise, he departed the scene.

He later appeared with a large group of Dai Li agents on the lake's shore, where they used earthbending to trap Aang and company. However, Appa emerged from the sky, having been freed earlier by Zuko. He barreled through the stone walls, causing the Dai Li to flee. Long Feng attacked Appa, arrogantly claiming that he would "handle [him] by [himself]", but his foot was caught in Appa's mouth when he attempted to earthbend. Appa subsequently flung him out far into the lake, leaving the dictator to nurse his wounded pride and a bitten leg from his embarrassing defeat.[6]

Fall from power

"You've beaten me at my own game.""Don't flatter yourself. You were never even a player."

Long Feng tried to convince Earth King Kuei that Aang and his friends were lying and that there was no war. He clearly had the advantage as Kuei initially dismissed Team Avatar's claims as "difficult to believe"; however, Aang managed to convince the Earth King to go to the Outer Wall, in exchange for a ride on Appa, showing him the drill, a massive Fire Nation war machine. Long Feng tried to cover it up as a construction project, but the Earth King was completely unconvinced. The Grand Secretariat was subsequently arrested and tried for conspiring against the Earth Kingdom by his own agents. Despite his imprisonment, Long Feng was reminded by his second-in-command that the Dai Li still remained loyal to him.

Shortly after his imprisonment, he made a deal with Azula, who, together with her allies, had infiltrated the city disguised as the Kyoshi Warriors;[3] he gave her control of the Dai Li so as to lead them while he was in jail, and they managed a coup of the city. However, Azula's ruthless efficiency had such a profound effect on the Dai Li that they shifted loyalty to her.

When Long Feng was eventually released, he ordered them to arrest the Fire Nation Princess, but they hesitated when he did. Azula, having planned this all along, mockingly told him that though he worked hard for his position, he lacked "the divine right to rule" that she had from birth. Without the power of the Dai Li to back him up, he was forced to bow before her as she took control of both the Dai Li and Ba Sing Se. When Long Feng complimented that Azula had beaten him at his own game, she added insult to injury by stating that he was never even a player.[4]

Personality

Long Feng showed his manipulative personality, able to create his own truth.

Long Feng's desire for power stemmed from his upbringing among the dredges of society. He had to struggle up the societal ladder from the Lower Ring straight to the Imperial Palace, developing his skills of manipulation and influence. Intelligent, ruthless and patient, he was able to achieve his goals by occupying important offices. Long Feng was also capable of corrupting the Dai Li, an organization loyal to the Earth Kingdom and the Earth King for generations.

However, as Azula pointed out to him later, he was foolish in believing that he could accomplish total control on his own. Even though Azula stated that it was his refusal to acknowledge power as a divine gift that caused his downfall, it was his overconfidence that ultimately led to his fall from power. Controlling Ba Sing Se without any competitors and challenges for years, the Grand Secretariat became careless and very self-confident. During the Coup of Ba Sing Se, Long Feng did not realize that he himself was the victim of manipulation. However, when he recognized the truth, he bowed before Azula and uncomplainingly accepted his defeat, as he realized that any challenge would have been futile, demonstrating his self-discipline and intelligence.

Abilities

Earthbending

As an agent of the Dai Li himself, Long Feng was one of the most powerful earthbenders in Ba Sing Se. Though he preferred to use other people as pawns instead of facing his enemies directly, he displayed considerable earthbending skills on numerous occasions. The first was a situation in which he overturned a huge slab of ground on Appa in order to capture the Avatar's steed.[2] Long Feng also dodged Jet's sword and mortally wounded him with a single, well-aimed rock.[6]

Other skills

Long Feng was also knowledgeable in hypnotism, which was commonly used by the Dai Li. By saying the trigger words "The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai", he could cause people who had been subjected to the Dai Li's hypnosis, such as Jet and Joo Dee, to obey his every word, essentially creating sleeper agents within the city.[6]

Trivia

During the second arrival of Sozin's Comet, a mentally unstable Azula criticized and banished her Dai Li agents for being late to a meeting, believing they would eventually betray her just as they had betrayed Long Feng.[8]

The name Long Feng (龍鳳) translates to "Dragon Phoenix", which stands for the royal throne in Chinese tradition.

The translation is also similar to the Cantonese colloquialism describing a person or group as "putting on a show of dragons and phoenixes", which means to put on an elaborate show with the intention to confuse, deceive, distract or misdirect.

The position Long Feng held is similar to a royal regent or to a queen in chess, in which he is really in control and victory is left to a king that wields no power.

The relationship between Earth King Kuei and Long Feng resembled the relationship between King Emmanuel III of Italy and Benito Mussolini. Mussolini was the prime minister of Italy from 1922 to 1943 who proceeded to install a Fascist government after forming an alliance with German dictator, Adolf Hitler. He was finally dismissed by Emmanuel after the Allies' successful invasion of Sicily, and arrested shortly afterward.

Long Feng served as the secondary villain in Book Two, a role similar to that of Zhao and Combustion Man in Book One and Book Three, respectively. These three antagonists were all introduced and defeated in their respective books, though Long Feng was the only one who was not killed, as well as the only one who was not from the Fire Nation.

Long Feng and Yakone shared many similarities, in the sense that both tried to assert control over a city: Long Feng tried to control Ba Sing Se by using the Dai Li, while Yakone tried to rule Republic City from its "rotten underbelly". Furthermore, both antagonists were defeated by Avatar Aang and subsequently attempted to enact revenge, but failed to accomplish their goals.

He wore a queue, a traditional Manchu hairstyle. Han Chinese were forced to wear queues under Qing Dynasty rule.